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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23607850">When Illness Flares Up, So Do Tempers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sickfickery/pseuds/Sickfickery'>Sickfickery</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Cade the Chronically Ill [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Belching, Belly Kink, Burping, Chronic - Freeform, Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, Emetophilia, GERD - Freeform, Gas - Freeform, Gen, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Graphic depictions of vomiting, M/M, Sickfic, Stomach Ache, Vomiting, acid reflux, emeto, indigestion</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:21:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,132</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23607850</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sickfickery/pseuds/Sickfickery</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>These are my two beloved original characters, Bradley and Cade. They are engaged. Cade has GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease), and this depicts his most horrific flare up.  </p><p>You can find my sickfic tumblr at https://tomato-sickfics.tumblr.com/ , where I post all kinds of good stuff with many of my original characters.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bradley/Cade, Cade/Bradley, Original Male Character/Original Male Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Cade the Chronically Ill [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1539247</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>When Illness Flares Up, So Do Tempers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cade thought that two days ago was the height of the flare-up. A nice, relaxing bath, listening to Bradley idly chat about his teammates or a co-worker’s drama while washing his hair had made him feel a little better, although he suspected the antacids had at least something to do with it. But now, again he was waking up to some of the worst pain he had felt in recent years. If it was morning, there would have been a sliver of sun shining through the blinds. But it wasn’t, so he knew it was the middle of the night. He could hear Bradley breathing next to him, and he wished his fiance’s arms were wrapped around him. Usually they would be, but the past 7 days and counting had Cade sleeping slightly propped up, trying to quell the unbearable fire in his chest that tended to present itself in the night. At least then it had just been his chest. It was more than that now; he’d felt this a few times, and at first it had scared the shit out of him and his parents. When things got this bad, some of his symptoms matched that of a classic heart attack. He’d been rushed to the hospital the first time, but his heart was fine. It was just a horrible flare-up. </p><p>He knew there was nothing dangerous about the way he felt, but that didn’t quell the anxiety that had immediately stabbed him when he registered the pain radiating through his chest, back, and shoulders. His chest was burning, but his back and shoulders were ebbing and flowing with waves of throbbing pain. Cade lay very still, trying to control the tears threatening to bubble up alongside his stomach contents. He tried to swallow, but his esophagus was so inflamed and acid-singed that he had to try and swallow several times just to feel like his throat cleared up for half a second. His mouth tasted so bad it was nauseating, and the severity of the pain he was currently experiencing was not helping in the slightest. He tilted his head to the night stand and discovered it was 2 A.M. Fuck. He had his arm stretched halfway out to reach for Bradley in the darkness, but he pulled back upon reading the bright red numbers. He swallowed hastily, maybe from the nausea or maybe from the emotions swirling inside him. </p><p>Cade jolted with a sudden sob that he hadn’t even really felt coming, and the tears he had been holding back spilled over. He forced himself to sit up fully, clenching the bedsheets in one hand, holding his face in the other. The change in gravity disagreed with him, and burning liquid hit the back of his throat. Ordinarily, he would have been able to swallow it down, but he was way too nauseous already. The already bad taste in his mouth was increased tenfold by the splash of bile, and a grating retch tore from him before he could even begin to try and stifle it. He felt terrible when Bradley shot up beside him, ever the light sleeper. Cade instinctively shot out the hand he wasn’t using to hold himself up and wrapped his fingers around his fiance’s bicep, squeezing so hard he heard Bradley hiss in pain. </p><p>“B-Bradley,” he stammered, startled by the hoarse distortion of his voice. He wasn’t able to continue, not that he had an idea what to say, for a bubbling belch gurgled out of him forcefully and a flood of bile spilled onto the blankets. He could hear Bradley softly cursing next to him and Cade’s grip on his upper arm loosened when his fiance pried his fingers off as gently as he could manage. </p><p>“Breathe,” Bradley said quietly but firmly, “It’ll pass.” Considering the events of the past week, it was clear what was happening.</p><p>Cade’s back and shoulders, and even part of his arms now were throbbing, and he sobbed, not sure what to do with himself. </p><p>“I’m sorry...I’m really sorry,” he repeated. He’d formed a habit of saying that recently.</p><p>“Stop,” Bradley shushed, “I know I’ve said some shitty things, but you really don’t need to be apologizing for this and I know you know that.” </p><p>Cade blew through his nose, trying to clear his nostrils to breathe, but the sharp exhale made him gag again, and he threw up a few mouthfuls of the chicken soup he’d had for dinner. The burn in his chest very suddenly became a stabbing pain, and he clutched at it desperately with both hands, curling over in agony.</p><p>“What? What’s wrong?!” Bradley demanded from beside him, frightened at the grimace now contorting Cade’s features.</p><p>Cade opened his mouth to reply but the stabbing pain sliced through him again and instead he inhaled incredibly sharply. He could feel his whole body trembling.</p><p>“Cade, is this...is this normal? I’ve never seen it like this,” Bradley looked conflicted, like he was deciding whether or not to flip the fuck out. </p><p>“T’s not normal--I just--I just...need a minute...it’s happened before,” Cade rasped, choking out the words. Bradley caressed the side of his face with hands that were a little bit too cold for Cade’s liking, but he appreciated the gesture. Bradley left the room for a moment, and his anxiety spiked at being alone. He could hear his fiance fumbling around the hallway, probably blindly searching for the light switch. </p><p>Cade glanced down at the small pile of his stomach contents and gagged silently; he’d managed to forget it was there for a moment. Figuring he should at least do something, he gathered up the soiled comforter and unceremoniously threw it to the ground. He couldn’t get up right now; every breath he took was cut short by a squeezing pain in his back and chest that made him lose all the air he’d just taken in. He leaned back against the headboard and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out all the sensory input from both the external world and his own body. Something quickly rose in his throat and he had to let it out--it hurt too much to swallow it back--but it was just a breathy burp that picked up volume until it cut off very wetly. A new flood of nausea gurgled through him and he leaned over the edge of the bed, where the already ruined blanket was conveniently between his mouth and the floor. That made him feel a little less guilty about the undeniable truth; he was about to puke on said blanket--again. Better than the floor, though. A wave of stomach acid hit his throat, an all too familiar, pungent taste that exploded on his tongue and immediately brought with it a loud retch from the depths of his stomach. This time, it wasn’t just a few mouthfuls. No, it was one huge wave of Cade’s dinner that gushed from his mouth so forcefully that some of it splashed off and onto the floor.</p><p>“Shit, babe!”</p><p>Cade moaned pathetically when a mixing bowl lined with a grocery bag was shoved under his chin. He belched loudly into it and spit a thick rope of yellow saliva into it, sniffling.</p><p>“Woah, are you crying?”</p><p>“No.” Yes.</p><p>“Look at me,” Bradley said softly, brushing Cade’s dark hair from his face. His heart sank. He wasn’t just crying. He was stifling sobs. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. You can cry. Don’t make it worse.”</p><p>Bradley’s last sentence hit Cade hard, and it finally became too much. He started sobbing loudly, choking on his own bile and hating the fact that he was alive right now. He gasped and just about aspirated his own stomach acid when his upper body was gripped with the next wave of pain. He couldn’t fucking stop. His hands were shaking fiercely, and he pressed his fists into his eyes, begging the tears to stop. He hated crying so much. Every breath he took became faster, shallower, tighter than the last. </p><p>He hadn’t been paying attention to Bradley until his fiancé started rummaging around in the nightstand, digging out Cade’s inhaler—times like this were really the only time he had to use it—and pulled his fist from his face, offering the inhaler with panic hidden not so subtly behind his eyes. Cade grabbed it and moved his other hand to his chest, then his stomach, and then back to his chest. Squeezing his eyes shut, he exhaled as hard as he could without vomiting, and puffed on the inhaler with a deep inhale. Before he could even finish his breath,  he choked and dropped the inhaler, coughing. It was a hoarse but wet cough, and he lurched over the bowl Bradley was still holding for him, choking out a stream of puke. He was aware enough of his surroundings to notice the splash that had hit Bradley’s fingers, and the resulting muffled retch from his poor fiancé. Still, he didn’t let go of the bowl, quickly wiping his hand off on the sheets—those could be washed—and smoothed Cade’s hair quickly before returning his two-handed grip on the now weighed down bowl.</p><p>Cade closed his mouth and a muffled burp was exhaled strangely through his nose while he desperately tried to grasp on to the remainder of his stomach. His eyes were red-rimmed and full of tears, his nose was running, and his lips were wet with saliva and particles of vomit. It hurt, it hurt so, so bad. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and die in that moment. </p><p>He kept dry heaving, over and over, for several minutes. When the nausea finally started to dull, he reached blindly for the inhaler he’d dropped. Bradley wiped it off and handed it to him.</p><p>“Can I take this away?” He asked, and Cade nodded as he took a puff of the medication. The relief was near immediate. He was still in immense amounts of pain, but the ability to breathe somewhat normally had thankfully been restored. </p><p>His heartburn and stabbing pains had not been alleviated, the bloating of his stomach no less prominent--but he wasn’t on the verge of puking his guts out--and he could take that as a win for now. </p><p>When Bradley returned, he was turning his phone over and over in his hands, looking devastated at the situation. </p><p>He stripped the sheets off and grabbed a tissue from the box they kept on the nightstand, first wiping away Cade’s tears, and then his mouth. He took another and handed it to him to blow his nose. </p><p>Cade didn’t blow very hard for fear of getting acid further into his sinuses or triggering another attack of nausea, but he tried his best, and wiped away what had already leaked from his nose. </p><p>Bradley took a shuddering breath and ran both hands down his face; he’d certainly washed them after cleaning out the bowl and getting vomit on his hand. </p><p>“Cade.” He said suddenly.</p><p>Cade looked up wearily. “Hm?”</p><p>Bradley pinched the bridge of his nose, looking very conflicted and upset. “I’m calling your parents and we’re going back to the doctor.”</p><p>Cade’s eyebrows snapped into an expression of distaste. “Don’t bring my parents into this-”</p><p>“You’re on their insura-” Bradley cut him off, but Cade wanted the last word. </p><p>“I’m fine!” He barked, but raising his voice had him bent over and clutching his sore, ravaged throat with both hands.</p><p>With that one little lie, Bradley’s entire demeanor shifted. He was pissed. “You,” he growled, “you are not fucking fine, Cade!” Cade visibly flinched. Shit. “Don’t you dare sit there and try to tell me that any of this is okay! Look at you!” He threw his hands up for a moment and stomped his food hard on the ground in frustration. “Do you even--God, you even know how bad...how fucking painful it is to see you like this? To watch you cry and writhe in agony, puking your guts out, and you really--you r-really want to tell me that this is all fine. Really? I can’t even belie-”</p><p>“Shut up!” Cade cried out, and this time it was Bradley who flinched, looking up in shock at the force behind his fiance’s voice. Cade was shaking, his hands gripping at his hair in his own form of anger. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean for this--I didn’t, I don’t want…” He didn’t know what to say. His tears returned with a vengeance. “I’m,” he began to sob again, this time from guilt, “I’m so sorry.”</p><p>Bradley’s own resolve began to crumble. And with it, the hope that someday this would all be over.</p>
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